Spurs struggle offensively, trail by six at half to Houston

The Spurs’ starters sputtered through their worst offensive half of the preseason as they fell behind Houston, 55-49, at the break.

Tony Parker had 12 points and Richard Jefferson had 11 for San Antonio.

But the Spurs were repeatedly burned the Rockets’ athletic group of guards. Kevin Martin diced them for 11 points as the Rockets hit their first four 3-pointers en route to a 44-29 lead with 5:12 left.

The Spurs answered with a 16-4 run punctuated by a nice pass from Gary Neal to DeJuan Blair for a dunk and a Neal three that pulled them within 48-45.

Chase Budinger hit a three in the final minute before Parker added two free throws to pull the Spurs within six.

The key statistic for San Antonio were 12 first-half turnovers than Houston turned into 19 points. The Spurs hit 42.1 percent from the field, compared to 50 percent for Houston

All things considered, the Spurs should feel fortunate they are down by only six at the break.